Acura MDX

The MDX lists spirited handling as one of its key attributes; we think it offers some of the most fun you can have with a vehicle that has three rows of seats. All models come with a 290-hp V-6, a nine-speed automatic and front-wheel drive, but we recommend the all-wheel-drive version (known as Super Handling All-Wheel Drive). The MDX is quick and quiet; braking and handling are above average. Our main disappointment is the bland exterior styling. But sometimes it’s good to go incognito, right? Instrumented Test – 2014 Acura MDX SH-AWD

2014 Acura MDX SH-AWD

(Staid) looks can be deceiving.

Like a jack-o’-lantern in mid-November, the 2014 Acura MDX looks softer and lumpier than the ute it replaces. Less menacing, too, its dual exhausts having been castrated in the redesign. But Acura assures us this third generation of its three-row SUV doesn’t concede anything to models previous. In fact, the new one allegedly laps the Nürburgring eight seconds faster than its predecessor.

Touché!

Cliché, too. While nobody from Acura would divulge an actual lap time, we hit 60 miles per hour in 6.4 seconds and ran the quarter in 14.9 seconds. That’s two-tenths quicker in both measures, despite the new model’s smaller-displacement V-6. Rated at 290 horsepower, the 3.5-liter V-6 is down 10 horsepower compared with last year’s engine but now employs direct injection and cylinder deactivation. That’s good for a 3-mpg gain in EPA combined mileage. We averaged 19 mpg overall, a 2-mpg improvement over the MDX we tested in 2010.

New MDX outruns old thanks to a serious diet. Weighing in at 4336 pounds, our top-of-the-line, $57,400 MDX Advance with Entertainment package and Super Handling All-Wheel Drive was 326 pounds lighter than the last loaded MDX we put on the scale. Acura has revised the SH-AWD sport-mode calibration to boost the amount its outside rear wheel is overdriven in corners, but that didn’t lead to any improvement on the skidpad. The new model pulled the same 0.85 g we saw on the last MDX’s trip around the circle. Braking fared better, with the 2014 model stopping in 178 feet and offering superior pedal feel.

The new MDX is quieter at both idle and freeway speed, too, which is not a bad thing. Yes, a front-wheel-drive model is available for the first time, and the new Integrated Dynamics System has a “comfort” mode for those feeble-armed drivers who want their fairy-tale pumpkin carriage to all but steer itself to the ball. Put the new MDX in sport mode, however, and you won’t have to worry about making it home by midnight.

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